Quick Get-Away
Today is Day 29 of my Happiness Hacks series. Faced with an open Saturday (a miracle of sorts for our family), we decided at the last minute (as in, yesterday) to make a quick get-away trip to our local mountains. When we’re home, we tend to keep ourselves constantly busy with work and chores. There’s…
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Ep. 2: 10 Friendship Skills Every Kid Needs
10 Friendship Skills Every Kid Needs Listener Question: How do I help my 13-year-old daughter with her social anxiety? Social Anxiety Resources: What is Social Anxiety? Social Anxiety Disorder, WED MD Parenting News: New research on screen time’s impact on our kids’ ability to persevere through problem solving: “Turn it Off Right Now!” Great Schools Parenting Tip:…
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Finding my Lane
Today is Day 28 of my Happiness Hacks series. As I get closer to the end of this series, I’m needing to dig a bit deeper to find my daily hack. Many of the practices I’ve written about, like going for a run, hugging, reading, walking my dog, and getting things done, I do just about every day.…
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Stop and Celebrate
Today is Day 27 of my Happiness Hacks series. At the end of last year, I wrote about the concept of a “reverse bucket list” in an article about year-end reflections. For me, it was a novel concept to take time to stop and reflect on what’s already been accomplished rather than focusing on future goals. I enjoyed the…
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Listen to a Podcast
Today is Day 26 of my Happiness Hacks series. Today I found out that my husband has been placed on a jury for a long case, possibly until January. This was not good news for me and produced some decidedly unhappy emotions. Fortunately, this morning I took my dog out for a run and listened to an…
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Two “To Do”s
Today is Day 25 of my Happiness Hacks series. My simple happiness hack for today was having a realistic “to do” list. This morning, I looked at my schedule and knew that I would not have much time to get anything done between my scheduled meetings and commitments. And so, I only put two, very…
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Inspirational Quotes
Today is Day 24 of my Happiness Hacks series. Ever since I can remember, I’ve enjoyed inspirational quotes. As a young teen, I started a journal where I collected my favorites. Now I save them on Pinterest and create graphics for my website using the ones I like best. For me, a happiness hack is reading through…
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How Big is My Problem?
This past summer at camp, one of our counselors reported a conflict within his cabin group. A camper had told one of his cabin mates to “stop acting so stupid.” The offended camper immediately reported to his counselor that “everyone hated him.” The counselor helped the camper calm down and then facilitated a sincere apology from the child who made the unkind comment. The problem was…
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Go to a Party
Today is Day 23 of my Happiness Hacks series. This afternoon is a reunion party for my summer camp, and I’m looking forward to connecting with campers, parents, and staff. We’ll be doing crafts, playing games, eating, remembering last summer through videos and slide shows, and having an assembly, just like we have at camp, complete with…
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Remembering
Today is Day 22 of my Happiness Hacks series. I’m visiting my parents this weekend, and today’s happiness hack was working on my dad’s autobiography with him. About ten years ago, inspired by a friend who had written a book about his life for his kids and grandkids, my dad decided to do the same.…
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A Strong “No”
Today is Day 21 of my Happiness Hacks series. Although today’s happiness hack sounds negative, I’ve found that part of getting my happy mojo back requires shedding tasks that are weighing on me and no longer fit with my priorities. As I look back over my life, I see the continual adding of new responsibilities without the…
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Happiness 9-1-1 Playlist
Today is Day 20 of my Happiness Hacks series. I’ve been really enjoying listening to podcasts lately, and one of my favorites is Happier with Gretchen Rubin. Yesterday I listened to Episode 87, which was a live recording in Seattle featuring people’s “Happiness 9-1-1” songs as well as their “manifestos” about life, work, family or…
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